March 22, 2012 Thursday Afternoon

Went out for $1 hamburger and $1 french fries last night at a local bar. Came home and spent the night watching American Idol and South Beach Tow before going to bed.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the early morning reading the two newspapers we get. Around 11 AM I took a walk along the river trail to Pick N Save to buy some fresh fruit. Bought a deli roast beef sandwich for lunch. Walked home and ate the sandwich. Laid down on the couch and listened to the new Madonna CD. Around 2 PM I felt something wrong in my stomach. A little while later I was on the toilet. I will never buy a deli sandwich from Pick N Save again. I know I said that the last two times when I got sick also, but this time I mean it. Walked over to talk to the neighbor for a while. A little chilly today in Milwaukee. But remember, when I say chilly, it still means it is warmer than it should be this time of year. The thermometer outside says it is 55 degrees. I am sure it is warmer away from the lake, west. Tonight Tony and I are going out to dinner at Palarmo Villa to have an Anniversary Dinner. It is 23 years to the date that we ate at this restaurant for our first date together. Tony and I last night were kidding each other about all the 'red flags' we should have seen and ran fast away from each other. I remember at this first date / dinner together Tony's breath being horrible. He also had to leave by 7 PM (we had an early dinner) so he could go to his group therapy meeting. Two big red flags right there, LOL. I did find out later the reason he had such bad breath was because he never made it home from the night before when we met and spent the wee hours out talking at a diner. Guess he forgot to tell the friend that was staying at his place to let him in at that time of night. Tony ended up sleeping the night at his auto body shop and hadn't even been home yet from the night before. Then there is the group therapy. I remember weeks into dating he was being told not to date me because 'it was too soon'. Well I guess they were all wrong because 23 years later, we are still together. Have to admire the determination on Tony's part to still meet for dinner under the circumstances. But we had made the plan to meet as we left the diner at 3 or 4 AM. Remember well how he called me that night after dinner and his meeting and we talked on the phone all night. Of course there was another red flag. He had just met a guy the previous Saturday and went home with him. And they had a date now to go to a concert the next night after Tony and my first date / dinner together. So he was kinda dating someone he just met when we started seeing each other. Sounds like another big red flag, LOL. He did go on the date and called me on the phone when he got home and we again talked on the phone all night until the wee hours of the morning. I honestly knew the minute I saw Tony in the bar he was going to be mine. I had always had a crush on him from the bars and I guess I just knew he was the one for me. He did have a very slutty past I had to deal with also, but we got through that. Hell, the guy he had been dating for 3 years, and just broke up with a couple weeks earlier, had a restraining order against Tony and Tony against him. I remember going to bars in the first few weeks and the bouncer at the door would tell us we could not come in because Russ was in the bar. Plus when we did get into a bar there was always an ex or two or three there to spoil the night. Somehow we got through it and Tony put up with all my insecurities, trust me, there was a lot of insecurity. It is not fun to go out with your man and have some dizzy queen walk up and tell you they slept with your man and how good it was. Gay people can sometimes be so cruel in this area. Not everyone wants to hear of know about all the other people they have slept with. Much less hear them brag about it. Anyway, I am sure we will have a nice supper tonight since we have ate at the restaurant every year since and many times in between. Will most likely come home and after a little TV do the lovin thing. I will recall and tell the rest of the weeks story 23 years ago as this week goes on. Those that have followed me for over a year most likely know the story. I do enjoy reflecting on it. It makes me smile. We both were lost souls looking for someone to spend their life with. Unfortunately we had to taste a lot of 'fruits' before we found each other.

As I was proof reading and ready to post, Tony walked in the door, home early from work, for the day. He just told me the bad news, they found a body, most likely Tom Hecht, in the river just like I had thought. They just found the body hours ago. Now the police can hopefully figure out if there was fowl play or not. So sad. My sympathy to the Hecht family.